Fleetwood leaving Smith-Green

Smith-Green Community Schools’ Business Manager Todd Fleetwood was hired by Whitley County Consolidated Schools Monday. He is pictured in front of his new office. The changeover was effective yesterday.

Todd Fleetwood shakes hands with Whitley County Consolidated Schools’ board members after they unanimously voted to hire him at Monday’s meeting.

By Nicole Minier

nminier@kpcmedia.com

COLUMBIA CITY — Smith-Green Community Schools’ Business Manager Todd Fleetwood was hired by Whitley County Consolidated Schools Monday night, and in the same night, he resigned from SGCS.

Fleetwood has been the business manager at SGCS for the past seven years, where he also oversaw food service and transportation maintenence finances.

Though Fleetwood is making the move to work away from his hometown, his children will still attend SGCS, and he will still be involved in many activities in Churubusco, such as being a board member of the Churubusco Youth Foundation and Chairman of the ’Busco Cub Scout pack.

“It was a very tough decision,” Fleetwood said.

He was drawn to all of the new development going on in Columbia City — a new high school will begin construction this year, there is business and housing development.

“The biggest thing I’m attracted to is all of the positivity,” Fleetwood said. “It’s going to be hard leaving my hometown, but I’m not going across the state. It is literally another 3-4 miles away from my house.”

Fleetwood is excited to take the next step in his career to a district that has three times the number of students and three times the budget as SGCS.

“I wasn’t even looking to leave,” Fleetwood said, “but I felt like this is where God was leading me to.”

Fleedwood is happy to move to a district so close to Churubusco.

“I don’t have to move my family and I can still be a part of the Churubusco community,” Fleetwood said. “I’ll still be a phone call away. I’m still passionate about Churubusco, and I’ll continue to be behind the growth of Churubusco.

Smith-Green has recently had funding woes, with deficit spending last year. The board recently took out a $2 million bond to overcome shortfalls and complete necessary projects.

Funding has been a common concern among small school districts.

“Small districts are struggling, but I wasn’t looking somewhere else because of that,” Fleetwood said.

With Fleetwood now leaving, Smith-Green’s board will now have the task of replacing the top two adminstration roles in the district — business manager and superintendent.

Superintendent Galen Mast will be leaving for West Noble schools this summer.

“They will have two important positions to fill at the same time,” Fleetwood said. “They’re going to have to make sure those two work well together,” Fleetwood said.

Fleetwood will work at WCCS four days a week and one day a week at SGCS until the end of the school year, or until he is replaced.